InBrightestDay

AAAAAAAAGH!
Ok, I waited, and since I didn’t see any announcement I didn’t do any more writing on Meaningful Gifts.  I figured we were all just waiting for next year.
I’m really sorry.  If you want to do one this year with @BronxWench, IR and @GeorgeGlass, I’ll post reviews of all the stories, but if you all wish to skip this year and return for AFF Winter Holiday 2025, I’ll be there for sure.

AAAAAAAAGH!
Ok, I waited, and since I didn’t see any announcement I didn’t do any more writing on Meaningful Gifts.  I figured we were all just waiting for next year.
I’m really sorry.  If you want to do one this year with @BronxWench, IR and @GeorgeGlass, I’ll post reviews of all the stories, but if you all wish to skip this year and return for AFF Winter Holiday 2025, I’ll be there for sure.

@Melrick and @Desiderius Price, first, regarding comparisons to Desiderius’s stories, I really don’t want anyone here to start drawing the lines between “good guys” and “bad guys” the way they exist in those stories.  I go to church on Sundays, and I am not your enemy.  Donald Trump and those aligned with him are going to continue saying they speak for my religion, that they own it, and Christians on the left are by and large going to be completely silent, because the nature of the left as a coalition likely makes them feel that they need to be.  Please don’t mistake that for the absence of intellectual, pro-science, LGBTQ and LGBTQ-affirming Christians.
As for Melrick’s assertion that the US is now a dictatorship, while I don’t want to sound like I’m brushing off how scary this election is (trust me, I’m feeling that too), I feel like it’s a bad idea to jump all the way to apocalyptic levels.  I understand it may be a relief, in some ways, to vent, but it’s just going to stress some of us (including me) out more, and is counterproductive to skip all the way to the worst possible outcome.
We need to take this one day at a time, and we do not have the luxury of quitting.

@Desiderius Price, apologies about not replying to this yesterday, but way ahead of your there.  Did my research on the local district school board members.  We had one running on that “empowering parents” idea (first name was Karen, amusingly enough), who I voted against.  She lost.  I’ll stay on it.

Your opinion is always worth a lot, Bronxwench. 🙂
Appreciated, Desiderius.  Sorry I didn’t review more than the first chapter of Fiends, but while I eventually made it through the second chapter, I wasn’t sure how to write the review for it (there are elements framed as scientific necessities in-universe that are more about kink/personal favorite ideas, and I wasn’t sure how seriously to analyze them), so I never ended up doing that.  I looked around to see if you had a short story I could review, but it seems you have the familiar writer’s curse of the stories growing ever longer.
*glances at my own unfinished, ever-expanding stories*
Trust me, I know this feeling. 😅
Also trust me on being with you on wanting to keep the separation of church and state intact.  I will do whatever I can over the next four years.

@Melrick and @Desiderius Price, first, regarding comparisons to Desiderius’s stories, I really don’t want anyone here to start drawing the lines between “good guys” and “bad guys” the way they exist in those stories.  I go to church on Sundays, and I am not your enemy.  Donald Trump and those aligned with him are going to continue saying they speak for my religion, that they own it, and Christians on the left are by and large going to be completely silent, because the nature of the left as a coalition likely makes them feel that they need to be.  Please don’t mistake that for the absence of intellectual, pro-science, LGBTQ and LGBTQ-affirming Christians.
As for Melrick’s assertion that the US is now a dictatorship, while I don’t want to sound like I’m brushing off how scary this election is (trust me, I’m feeling that too), I feel like it’s a bad idea to jump all the way to apocalyptic levels.  I understand it may be a relief, in some ways, to vent, but it’s just going to stress some of us (including me) out more, and is counterproductive to skip all the way to the worst possible outcome.
We need to take this one day at a time, and we do not have the luxury of quitting.

I’m stressing a lot right now.  I’m not sure if I’ll be able to afford to keep living on my own once those tariffs go into effect.

@Desiderius Price, apologies about not replying to this yesterday, but way ahead of your there.  Did my research on the local district school board members.  We had one running on that “empowering parents” idea (first name was Karen, amusingly enough), who I voted against.  She lost.  I’ll stay on it.

@Desiderius Price, apologies about not replying to this yesterday, but way ahead of your there.  Did my research on the local district school board members.  We had one running on that “empowering parents” idea (first name was Karen, amusingly enough), who I voted against.  She lost.  I’ll stay on it.

@Desiderius Price, apologies about not replying to this yesterday, but way ahead of your there.  Did my research on the local district school board members.  We had one running on that “empowering parents” idea (first name was Karen, amusingly enough), who I voted against.  She lost.  I’ll stay on it.

@InBrightestDay Yeah, kinks are in there, and it’s one of the earlier stories meant to be rewritten and updated once I get all the others done.  (I’m trying to forbid myself from new projects until there, because there’s some interesting things slated to happen toward the end of Fiends that basically kickstarts where I intended to take the series.)  There *are* some short stories sprinkled into the holiday/halloween fests (I’ve since cross-posted those to AO3).
In terms of elections, don’t forget to pay attention to things like board of education, local offices; those are things your vote has a much greater impact on.  My local board of education had a couple of candidates that seemed to be regurgitating the Trump/Religious-Right manifestos, and luckily neither of them made it (this time).

@Melrick and @Desiderius Price, first, regarding comparisons to Desiderius’s stories, I really don’t want anyone here to start drawing the lines between “good guys” and “bad guys” the way they exist in those stories.  I go to church on Sundays, and I am not your enemy.  Donald Trump and those aligned with him are going to continue saying they speak for my religion, that they own it, and Christians on the left are by and large going to be completely silent, because the nature of the left as a coalition likely makes them feel that they need to be.  Please don’t mistake that for the absence of intellectual, pro-science, LGBTQ and LGBTQ-affirming Christians.
As for Melrick’s assertion that the US is now a dictatorship, while I don’t want to sound like I’m brushing off how scary this election is (trust me, I’m feeling that too), I feel like it’s a bad idea to jump all the way to apocalyptic levels.  I understand it may be a relief, in some ways, to vent, but it’s just going to stress some of us (including me) out more, and is counterproductive to skip all the way to the worst possible outcome.
We need to take this one day at a time, and we do not have the luxury of quitting.

Your opinion is always worth a lot, Bronxwench. 🙂
Appreciated, Desiderius.  Sorry I didn’t review more than the first chapter of Fiends, but while I eventually made it through the second chapter, I wasn’t sure how to write the review for it (there are elements framed as scientific necessities in-universe that are more about kink/personal favorite ideas, and I wasn’t sure how seriously to analyze them), so I never ended up doing that.  I looked around to see if you had a short story I could review, but it seems you have the familiar writer’s curse of the stories growing ever longer.
*glances at my own unfinished, ever-expanding stories*
Trust me, I know this feeling. 😅
Also trust me on being with you on wanting to keep the separation of church and state intact.  I will do whatever I can over the next four years.

Your opinion is always worth a lot, Bronxwench. 🙂
Appreciated, Desiderius.  Sorry I didn’t review more than the first chapter of Fiends, but while I eventually made it through the second chapter, I wasn’t sure how to write the review for it (there are elements framed as scientific necessities in-universe that are more about kink/personal favorite ideas, and I wasn’t sure how seriously to analyze them), so I never ended up doing that.  I looked around to see if you had a short story I could review, but it seems you have the familiar writer’s curse of the stories growing ever longer.
*glances at my own unfinished, ever-expanding stories*
Trust me, I know this feeling. 😅
Also trust me on being with you on wanting to keep the separation of church and state intact.  I will do whatever I can over the next four years.

Your opinion is always worth a lot, Bronxwench. 🙂
Appreciated, Desiderius.  Sorry I didn’t review more than the first chapter of Fiends, but while I eventually made it through the second chapter, I wasn’t sure how to write the review for it (there are elements framed as scientific necessities in-universe that are more about kink/personal favorite ideas, and I wasn’t sure how seriously to analyze them), so I never ended up doing that.  I looked around to see if you had a short story I could review, but it seems you have the familiar writer’s curse of the stories growing ever longer.
*glances at my own unfinished, ever-expanding stories*
Trust me, I know this feeling. 😅
Also trust me on being with you on wanting to keep the separation of church and state intact.  I will do whatever I can over the next four years.

@InBrightestDay  Thanks for reading!  Generally don’t have an issue with anybody so long as the religion isn’t pushed; for the narrative I had intended to write, I’ve been using the “christian nation” atmosphere to launch it.  And based on some of the tales I’ve heard out of the current politics (looking at you Oklahoma), it’s quite dangerous feel that we’re heading toward a very near-term merger of state & church.

@InBrightestDay, you make some excellent points.
I have some very dear, lifelong friends who have voted for Trump, and while I don’t agree with their choice of candidate, it’s incumbent upon me, if I truly support our democratic republic and our Constitution, to respect their right to vote freely. We do need to take this one day at a time, and do our part to ensure that our Constitution, our rule of law, isn’t trampled by those of his sycophants he empowers. (Elon, I am looking right at you, and at the Kennedy disgrace as well.) We need to start now, to make sure his vice president-elect doesn’t sweep in after him, because I honestly believe he would be even worse for our country. So, let’s raise up some new candidates, good and honorable people, who will embody unity and not revenge.
I also refuse to tar all Christians with the same brush as those who subvert the message of Christianity and twist it to justify hatred. I married a Bronx Irish Catholic, and I’m as pagan as they come, so take that for what it’s worth. 
We can get past this. There aren’t a lot of realistic options, are there?

@Melrick and @Desiderius Price, first, regarding comparisons to Desiderius’s stories, I really don’t want anyone here to start drawing the lines between “good guys” and “bad guys” the way they exist in those stories.  I go to church on Sundays, and I am not your enemy.  Donald Trump and those aligned with him are going to continue saying they speak for my religion, that they own it, and Christians on the left are by and large going to be completely silent, because the nature of the left as a coalition likely makes them feel that they need to be.  Please don’t mistake that for the absence of intellectual, pro-science, LGBTQ and LGBTQ-affirming Christians.
As for Melrick’s assertion that the US is now a dictatorship, while I don’t want to sound like I’m brushing off how scary this election is (trust me, I’m feeling that too), I feel like it’s a bad idea to jump all the way to apocalyptic levels.  I understand it may be a relief, in some ways, to vent, but it’s just going to stress some of us (including me) out more, and is counterproductive to skip all the way to the worst possible outcome.
We need to take this one day at a time, and we do not have the luxury of quitting.

I’m stressing a lot right now.  I’m not sure if I’ll be able to afford to keep living on my own once those tariffs go into effect.

I’m stressing a lot right now.  I’m not sure if I’ll be able to afford to keep living on my own once those tariffs go into effect.

TFW your phone makes a Monty Python and the Holy Grail reference.
“She’s...beautiful, she’s rich, she’s got huge...tracts of land!”

On the bright side, you’ve got a head start to a submission for this upcoming holiday season! 

I am sure the story will be worth the wait when you overcome the writers block.

It my conviction that you cannot easily command story progress. Assigning one extra week to the effort is by no means sure to be able to get the done the job. Sometimes you run into situation were the subconscious is intruding on writing and that is life when working with a creative process. Sometimes you just need some cool-down to make the problem go away and sometimes you realize that you subconsciousness was right and the story need some kind of change.

Welcome back! I managed not to write anything for Hallowe’en or Christmas myself. It happens, and in my case, more often than I’d like, but life isn’t always as predictable or smooth as we’d like. So, come hang out anyway! 

Dude, you're a terrific writer, but we're glad to have you around whether you're producing or not.